On front line of climate change as Maldives fights rising seas

White sand circles picked out by the sun in sparkling blue seas are the first signs that my plane has arrived at the Maldives, a tropical paradise spread over almost 1200 islands.

Unfortunately, the nation is facing a rise in sea levels and the bleaching of its coral reefs – perils that made it a poster child for the consequences of climate change.

It gained publicity for the plan announced by former president Mohamed Nasheed in 2008 to purchase land elsewhere so the population could relocate should sea level rise make the islands uninhabitable.

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But the mood has changed here recently. The new government, under president Abdulla Yameen, no longer seeks land to buy, but is instead determined for the nation to stay put and resist the rising seas with geoengineering projects.

The key to the new strategy is renting out islands and using the money to reclaim, fortify and even build new islands. People living on smaller lower-lying islands could then be relocated to more flood-resistant islands when needed.

City of Hope

One of those is the City of Hope being built on an artificial island called Hulhumale, near the capital Male. To build it, a state-owned company is pumping sand from surrounding atolls and depositing it on shallow reefs that surround the original lagoon. It is being fortified with walls 3 metres above sea level — which is higher than the highest natural island at only 2.5 metres above the sea.

Much of the island still looks like a construction site with mountains of sand piled up, but, according to the shiny plastic model I am shown, when finished in 2023 it will be able to accommodate about 130,000 people.

Eight such islands have already been built, and three more are planned.

Reclaiming islands is the real solution to challenges thrown up by climate change, not leaving the country, says Shiham Adam, director of the Maldives Marine Research Centre.

“Development and reclaiming of islands are necessary. People must have land to live on and they must have jobs,” says Adam. “It is possible to reclaim any island. We have seen that it takes just four weeks to reclaim about 24 hectares of land.”

“All you have to do is bring the dredgers, suck sand and pump it on the low-lying land in shallow waters,” Adam says. “It takes four weeks to build the island and a couple more to put boulders around to stabilise it. To survive we just need money.”

Islands for hire

In line with this grand scheme, the Maldives government is in the final stages of negotiation with Saudi Arabia to lease Faafu Atoll, consisting of 23 islands, for development for 99 years.

It could get about $10 billion – more than three times the GDP of the Maldives – from the deal, but will need to relocate about 4000 people. Although the islands’ population has been offered homes for free in bigger towns, some are still protesting the plan. Government officials told me that no one will be relocated against their wish.

Nasheed thinks Saudi Arabia is seeking to secure its oil trade routes to China, which recently became dangerous due to widespread piracy, by establishing a big base en route in the Maldives. It is expected that the Saudis would also develop the atoll for projects in tourism and maritime commerce.

The Maldives government is also planning for 50 more tourist resorts to be opened by 2018. “Tourism with resorts acting as natural reserves can be the saviours of the Maldives,” says Adam.

Leaders of two NGOs I meet here aren’t against reclaiming islands, but they argue for a slower and more environmentally sensitive pace.

Natural growth

A study of Funafuti Atoll in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, published in 2014, showed that monsoon winds and storms that break up coral and deposit sand on the atolls can help the islands grow naturally.

Whether this works for coral atolls elsewhere in the world is unknown, but the study’s author, Paul Kench at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and his colleagues, say that the Maldives seem to be showing a similar effect.

“Satellite pictures and Google Earth show that some islands are growing, while others are shrinking,” Ahmed says.

One reason for shrinking is damage from shipping. “It seems that those that were damaged by explosions meant for clearing the way for boats through the reefs are losing the sand,” says Ahmed. “It is carried by storms, waves and streams to the deep waters. You can see it when diving.”

“This invasive process should be avoided as much as possible,” he says. “Paths can be cleared in much less damaging ways by chiselling, and islands should be reclaimed only when absolutely necessary.”

Coral graveyards

Another problem with reclamation is that by pumping sand onto the reefs, surrounding corals gradually become covered too and die out. This adds to the pressure they are already experiencing from warmer waters that make them bleach and sometimes die.

Last year, more than 60 per cent of the corals in this region experienced bleaching because of the effect of the El Niño weather phenomenon, and they may take a decade to recover.

When I go for a dive in the beautiful turquoise shallows I am welcomed by graveyards of pale, colourless skeletons. To my untrained eyes this looks beautiful.

New visitors don’t know how beautiful coral reefs were prior to bleaching, says Axel Jarosch, general manager of Banyan Tree hotel on Vabbinfaru Island, who is involved in an experimental programme to revive corals by seeding them with healthy polyps. “They like them even when bleached and white,” he says. “They have nothing to compare with.”

Ahmed, meanwhile, organised the relocation of some of the corals that became threatened during the reclamation of Hulhumale. He thinks this should be a standard procedure in all similar projects.

Sustainable approach

Shaahina Ali from Biodiversity Education and Awareness, which organises the cleaning of uninhabited islands, also argues for a more sustainable approach.

“We understand the need for reclamation of some islands,” Ali says. “But the government should take care that it is done with as little damage as possible in accord with strict environmentally friendly projects.”

As I leave the islands I am left overwhelmed by conflicting impressions and wondering what the future really holds for the Maldives. Stunning white beaches and colourful tropical fish, sea turtles and sharks contrast sharply with fields of dead, bleached coral, island building sites and a huge amount of plastic waste on the beaches.

“When we were young, plastic bottles on beaches were rare. We used them as toys,” says Ali. “But with the massive use of plastic and the rapid change of lifestyle, the beaches of our uninhabited islands that are not cleaned regularly began to look like dump yards.”

Whether the new policy developments and drive to reclaim the islands leave the land here even more exposed to the sea remains to be seen.